Athletics vs. Royals: Picks, predictions, how to watch Sunday’s game

The Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals square off on Sunday, June 26 with first pitch set for 2:10 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. James Kaprielian (0-5, 5.98 ERA) will step on the mound for the A’s while Brady Singer (3-2, 4.34 ERA) will get the nod for the Royals.

Oakland (24-49) was able to hold off the Royals on Saturday night in a high-scoring 9-7 victory at Kauffman Stadium. The A’s bats were active the entire evening as the team compiled 14 hits. Leadoff batter Tony Kemp set the tone for them, going 3-5 with a home run and two RBI. Today, Oakland will hope that Kaprielian notches his first win of the season. He wasn’t bad in last Tuesday’s start against the Mariners, giving up just two earned runs in 5.1 innings while striking out seven.

Kansas City (26-44) trailed for the entire ball game but put itself within striking distance of the A’s multiple times. With two on and no outs in the bottom of the eighth, Michael A. Taylor blasted a clutch three-run bomb to pull the Royals to within one. They would get a runner on in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t push him across home. Brady Singer will try to get a win after giving up three earned runs in last Sunday’s loss to the A’s.

Athletics vs. Royals

Pitchers: James Kaprielian vs. Brady Singer
First pitch: 2:10 p.m. ET
Athletics local broadcast: NBC Sports California
Royals local broadcast: Bally Sports Kansas City
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)

Odds, picks & predictions

Run Line: Royals -1.5 (+125), Athletics +1.5 (-145)
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Royals -165, Athletics +140

Moneyline pick: Royals -165

This battle between the two worst teams in the American League will come down to reliable pitching and I trust Singer to come through more than Kaprielian. The Royals came close to upending the A’s last night and they’ll carry some of that offensive spark into today’s showdown.

Player prop pick: Tony Kemp under 0.5 hits (+170)

Kemp was red hot for the Athletics as the leadoff batter last night but I’ll predict that Royals pitching brings him back down to earth and he’s held hitless for the contest.

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